Open Thread and Diary Rescue

This evening's Rescue Rangers are vcmvo2, srkp23, dadanation, smokeymonkey, Avila (hugs galore for triple shift) and Joyful, with Patriot Daily as editor.

• The rendition, torture, imprisonment and eventual release of German citizen Murat Kurnaz by US forces is detailed by Christian Dem in NC in German ex-detainee tells 60 Minutes Americans tortured him. (Avila)
• Robert Naiman analyzes how recent increased violence in Iraq is directly tied to the upcoming elections in Basra Assault Exposes Fraud of a Historical Reconciliation in Iraq. (vcmvo2)
• When total war is the way, tragedy and injustice proliferate: jimstaro discusses PTSD in This is the face of the war in Iraq and possum simply, poignantly, powerfully presents A Detainee's Day at Guantanamo. (srkp23)
• There's Bush on Iraq . . . and then there's reality. Avenging Angel examines the facts about recent developments in Sadr City and Basra and reflects upon Bush's Premature Iraq Elation. (Avila)
• America isn't the only country suffering severe drought conditions. JohnnyRook takes us overseas and shows us that The Rain in Spain Falls Mainly... Nowhere (Econoticiario Special Edition). (Johnny, the Rangers wish you all the best as you rest and recover!) (joyful)
• winterbanyan shares the personal experience of living in fear: Terror without medical insurance. (srkp23)
• An agricultural workers' strike to protest increased taxes in South America will affect your costs and availability at markets here, as davidseth explains in Globalization: Argentinian Farmers Strike, Food Prices Increase. (Avila)
• nicweb writes about McCain's free ride by the traditional media in The Conservative Republican Nominee for President. (joyful)
• NNadir reports on exposure to electronic component waste in The Level of Perfluoroorganic Chemicals in World Trade Center Responders. (joyful)
• In a lyrical and beautifully written blues, JuliaAnn gives voice to the emotional cyclone of the human condition in Despair as Daily Bread. Highly recommended. (Avila)
• CanyonWren pleads the case for the PAW Act in Alaska Governor: Science Be Damned, Kill Wolves and Bears Anyway. (smokeymonkey)
• theantidesi101 offers an extraordinary review of civil and human rights worldwide in The Queer Western Thing. (Avila)
• davej comprehensively lists all the reasons why joining a union is important, in Why Have A Union? (vcmvo2)
• A Siegel delivers an encouraging report on student responses to Greening America and the American College and University Presidents Climate Commitment to working toward a sustainable energy future in Greening March Madness .... (Avila)
• Mark H completes his wonderful series on the Hermit Crab with the intriguing angle that these crabs have thrived because of an invasion of non-native periwinkles in Marine Life Series: Hermit Crabs and Exotic Species. (vcmvo2)

Progressive Witness has Top Comments: My Life In the UCC.

Enjoy and please promote your own favorite diaries in this open thread.